I felt like the final season was an occurrence of them writing themselves into a corner, with respect to the narrative. Its hard to convey these darker meanings narratively.
@@cade377 This video was released right after the episode in question came out. At that point, it looked like he had shot and killed him. Mea culpa for sure, but it looked like that had happened during the time.
@@everettenjeze6276 Oh and Fuches getting out of jail. So, so, so funny. I absolutely love Stephen Root. I've watched that sequence like three times already.
@@criticalcoffee As a listener to Burr's actual podcast, it was great to hear his fake one. I could feel his smirk throughout the unhinged rant, and loved how Barry was like, "bingo," finding a shred of validation. I do agree that the show has slowly shifted its balance away from comedy, but the dramatic and horrific moments always feel earned, so I have no complaints. Many recent episodes feel like distilled anxiety, which is a triumph in itself. It's amazing that what started as a quirky dark comedy could pivot to now making me feel like I can't breathe for half an hour.
The fact that Season 4 doesn't have music in its intro anymore already made a statement in which direction it would take. It was a subtle change, but very effective.
I know this has been a popular "monkey's paw" perspective on the subreddit, but I gotta say that it's not actually what Sally "wants" is it? Like the show hasn't made a point to show that she wants to portray Waitress #2 every day of her life. Season 3 Sally's want is to be loved by her peers. (e.g. the Joplin red carpet / speech). After killing someone I think her want becomes to feel safe with someone, which Barry fulfills. Anyway, thanks for watching!
"What if we show these guys, these characters--what if we show them getting what they wanted. What if we show putting on playing--'cause the acting the idea went away but this idea of *playing a part to be able to live with yourself* and try to get a version of what you want, you know? And can they hold onto that was an idea that we had." This refers to both Barry and Sally I think. My interpretation is that Sally gets what she wants by feeling safe with Barry. I think there's a shift in her "want" from the point where she kills someone and in the moment where she chooses to leave LA. As Hader mentions in the same pod: her leaving LA is her saying good bye to acting. edit* also should specify that I'm not disagreeing with you. Hader does confirm this, I was mistaken in assuming that her "want" would be the same that it was during S3.
The first 3 seasons had us laugh at dark comedy of Barry & others harming themselves and others. Season 4 shows what results from that and silently scolds us for enjoying their suffering.
The best shows have a definitive 'end' after a certain amount of seasons. I always thought Fuches narrative arc the funniest. How many opportunities has he had to settle down and live the good life? Yet each time he gives in to his addiction and gets back in the game. He can't help himself. Maybe that's what the show is about, each of the characters dealing with their individual addictions.
S3 Fuches is so frigging funny. He gets the chance to live a peaceful life TWICE and young hot women FOR SOME REASON just want him, and still he can't give up the revenge.
I love how it's sort of the opposite of Barry: where the universe seems to be bending over backwards to try and give Fuches a second chance, it does the exact opposite for Barry, constantly bringing all of the shit he did back to haunt him.
@@criticalcoffeeThis show sucks ass. The characters are inconsistent, and the story spins its wheels to stretch the time That's why characters can't make up their minds and they literally repeat character arcs. At one point fuches is dying, and some cowboys find him. By the end of the very same day, fuches gunshot heals, the guy that found him is offering him his daughter, and fuches steals his truck and heads to kill barry. This is literally the second time fuches works on a ranch and decides to live peacefully without Barry, but then randomly decides to leave to kill him Fuches followed tired tracks from the road into the woods near genes house, and found genes gfs body. The cops couldn't find tire tracks or a fucking car when using hundreds of people and dogs to search but fuches can alone??? How are the tire tracks in the woods 2 years later??? This show is lazy and sucks.
Barry's rampage in the season 2 finale is one of the best moments of the show and imo it even spoils the whole story if you think about it, season 3 basically retrace it the same path but it just keep reinforcing the idea that Barry cannot change, no matter what he does he will always end up as a killer with no regards for human life, hes truly a broken man and no amount of mascarading himself to appear human will ever be enough for him
As someone who followed from the beginning i really think its starting to get its due traction, anyone who cares about tv is at least aware of it and if there were a 5th season i think it would do well a la breaking bad in its final seasons
@LivingRoomTV its very specific stylistically but its also a dense dark comedy with thick plot that takes place in 27 minute episodes across 8 episodes a season. i love it. I can understand not loving it but its not a huge commitment to tty half the season(2 hours)
@LivingRoomTV yeah dud give it another chance, i would personally place that show head to head with breaking bad, and as barry becomes darker, its performances keep evolving till emmy award level. Psd: sorry for my s*tty english :s
@LivingRoomTV I had the same issues as you did with the pilot, and didn't make it halfway through episode 2. No idea why I decided to try it again once the first season had all come online, but glad I did. I think once I took a second to give the writing more credit, that the cringe in the characters was by design, it gave time to see what ( if anything) the writers wanted to do with those characters. Turns out, the payoff was amazing. And not even just the main characters, but many of the tertiary characters get little nods and brief times to become more human and fleshed out, if briefly so. Can't recommend the show enough.
This and Succession finishing at the same time is almost too much for me to take. So much amazing television and it's all coming to a head. Unfortunately I think Barry will have a much darker ending than Succession...
I managed to keep up with Barry as it went along from season two onwards and it really is on the same level as Mr. Robot for me as an all time favorite. It's the rare show where it manages to surpass already high expectations every season and every week for me. As a bit sad i am about it ending soon, I'm glad it can potentially end on a high note and not drag on. It's why i was excited to find out season four would be the last.
Mr Robot is a very good comp! another show that honestly deserved more attention. I think (personally) that it peaked with S3 but I think it was never bad. Should write an essay about that show tbh
The season also has some horror elements. It’s disturbing at times like the latest episode with hearing Moss say “I cut your arms and legs off” as Barry is crying in agony and fear is terrifying along with the black figure following behind sally to represent her trauma.
The dead guy in the acting class, the dead guy on the plane, Barry walking into the darkness. It's not horror but it is for sure using tropes from horror. It's almost like Hader is practicing or something ;)
@@tanneraitken3768 I think with the right subject matter and the right material, he has a real chance to appear as the next Jordan Peele. Both have backgrounds in comedy at least. Although I don't know what is a topic that Hader could tackle like Peele has with Get Out, Us and Nope.
Dude THANK GOD Somebody finally gave season 1 episode 7 the recognition it deserved, it really is one of the best episodes of the whole show and one of my personal favorites
I'm so grateful of being one of your subscribers before you get to the 1K mark, because just by seeing this video I can tell that by the end of the year you'll be hitting it big, mate. Superb breakdown and analysis of the series. Keep up the great work.
the way the pilot went i knew how this series was gonna be. the masterful art and storytelling of bill hader, with that bill hader comedy on top. it’s a masterpiece that could only be made by people or one person on the same page.
I notice that Barry’s cinematography changed since season 3 as well. In the first two seasons, the scenes were way more colorful but once it reached season 3, the scenes became very gray just like how Barry totally losing his morals. I got the same feeling with Better Call Saul, when the first 4 seasons were very colorful but once Jimmy started working under the name Saul Goodman and season 5 started, the color tone of the show became very orange and gray, just like Jimmy’s moral corruption.
Yea, I believe The Sopranos used the same color grading technique. The later seasons had a much more darker color palette than the first few seasons, in order to signify looming dread.
Prediction: Barry seeing Sally and Couseneau in the dream where he sees everyone he kills, foreshadows eventually having to kill them. I know we basically already got this confirmed at the end of the last episode with him saying “I need to kill Couseneau” but I think that will go smoothly, and theyll try to return back to their isolated life, and then Sally’s dark side (as its been shown) will overcome her and she will endanger their child, forcing Barry to kill her to protect the child, but reverting all of his process on abstaining from killing. OR, Sally could be the one that ends up killing Couseneau, which could also unlock her darkside and call for Barry to put her down to save himself. Its all gonna come down to Barry being alone, and being a Killer. Im hoping Bill Hader gives us SOME positive takeaway from that but im okay with just being sad lol
if you're right, i'll need to kill Dylan. jk. that theory is really nice dude, even it being a sad ending it would be a very interesting one. Hats off to Bill for this one.
@@criticalcoffeedefinitelt didnt predict Jim Moss abducting Barry, but half the theory is still holding. It seems like things wont blow up over Couseneau because Gene doesnt want to make the movie so he doesnt have to die, and it looks like Sallys darkness has come back to bite her, she has compromised the sons safety, and it seems like Barry is going to have to make the hard decision I feared. That is, unless he finds some way out through this Jim Moss situation
Loved how being on the run destroyed Barry and sally mentally. Barry with the kids ding dong ditching their house. And sally with the hallucinated home invasion.
Great work here ive been looking for more regular conversations about this amazing show. Will fefinetely be curious of your thoughts once we hit finale in a couple weeks
this show is so good i’m glad i hopped on it when it first came out. looking at where it started it is clear that it has gotten progressively darker. but i also think that it has still kept the humor at the fore front. scenes can have a dark undertone and be lighthearted. the subject matter is def intense but bill hader is able to mask them with comedic elements. i think the show portrays trauma as something that people try to hide by either making a joke or doing something horrible that is justified by them being broken. i can’t wait to see how it ends.
One of my favorite TV moments is from Delocated, when the mafia villian declares "This isnt a silly comedy anymore. It's a silly drama!" And that seems to encapsulate a lot of prestige TV these days.
Barry is my favorite show out right now, it's phenomenal. I'm so upset that it's coming to an end. In trying to predict what happens, the scene on the beach implies at some point he will kill Sally and Couseneau. For Barry himself.. I think either he kills himself, which is why he's on the beach too, or we hear a gunshot and it's left unanswered if he's alive or dead.
I agree that this is the by far the darkest season but at the same time I think I’ve laughed harder at the few comedic needle drops than in any other season. Also I just noticed you only have 1 K subs, that is going to change quickly I would imagine. Great video.
We need to STOP using psychopath as a word used to deacribe people who are willing snd able to kill. That does NOTTT make one a psychopath. At all. Barry, is not a psychopath. We see this time snd time again. He does have empathy. He absolutely 1000 percent, does. Hes just a broken, brainwashed, man. Who was taught to be this way, who had to bury their emotions to be who they are without losing their mind. All soldiers who have to kill end up doing this to some degree. Burrying their emotions, I mean. Its literally PART of the military training. Dehumanizing your targets and making you angry. Thats how militaries have gotten their soldiers willing to kill. Before that, which is around ww1/ww2- Vietnam, soldiers wouldnt do their jobs. Most soldiers would shoot over their enemies heads. On all sides. Real thing. Saying hes a psychopath REMOVES nuance. Hes a damaged mentally ill, man. Not a psychopath.
Great video and exactly the type of video essay I’ve been looking for on Barry since S2. You nailed it with the end of the video as I was hoping to debate that while S4 is the darkest, the tone of the show has never really changed. Ep6 of S4 makes that pretty clear. You mediated on Barry’s actions in S1/2 after the context from S3/4 and you saw how the show was only funny before because there was still sympathy for Barry. The sympathy was never earned but it was still there. Honestly it’s still not gone but Barry has had something coming to him since he killed Chris. I find it funny that Bill Hader was surprised that people didn’t think Barry was an awful person. Great video man this deserves more hype. Would love to see thoughts after the S4 finale.
What if the fourth season is supposed to be the opposite of the second season, where instead of Barry seeking redemption and inevitably killing out of rage and revenge, he seeks revenge and finds redemption somehow. It makes sense since the third season felt, like you said, like Barry had resorted back to how he was in the first season (only worse). Idk rlly bill has an amazing way of keeping you guessing, but this is how I hope it resolves.
This is a very interesting prediction. What halts me a bit is how Hader talks about Barry as a character on the Prestige TV Podcast. He _really_ doesn't like Barry. So that would kinda mean that Barry is never going to change. However, I do find that with episode 6, there are some shades of that happening. There has to be some sort of moral reckoning for Barry and his misdeeds throughout the show. How that's going to be handled is still up in the air. I hope it's not a Breaking Bad style thing where he 180s in the final moments and finds redemption in his death or something like that. I hope it's something a bit more interesting than that. Thank you for watching and for the insightful comment!
@@criticalcoffee True and after all, it still feels like a comedy at the end of the day, maybe the ending is the absolute worst scenario for everyone (or just Barry) in the most hilarious way possible. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK MAN
Also forgot to mention, it’s interesting you brought up Walter because I feel someone like Vince Gilligan would also really not like Walter, and the similarities between how Walter justifies his many murders throughout breaking bad, and how Barry justifies (or tries to justify) his murders. Especially in the sixth episode where he tries to find any sort of wiggle room in his Christian beliefs for the murder he attempts to commit on Gene. Also I find it interesting that after Barry’s two father figures betrayed him, it seems his new role model in God. Which might actually be his worst parental figure yet if you think about it. Also also, I really have to rewatch the show to be sure, but Barry always felt to me like he’s never had an original thought in his head, and that mentally he NEEDS something or someone guiding him an any way shape or form. Watching Barry listen to those podcasts didn’t feel like he was just seeking justification, but that he was literally filling those thoughts into his head as his own. It’s a little freaky if you see it that way. So sorry for ranting, it’s SUPER fun talking and debating about this highly underrated show Damnit, forgot about his daydreams so I guess he has had some original thoughts
was the better call saul reference that the protagonists gets a whole new identity after a time jump or is it something else. I also liked the wide shots of the landscape they use in 4x5 gave it a even more better call saul feeling
People barely have the attention span for 25 minutes. Unfortunately some stuff just has to be cut out. Agreed completely though, it's frigging horrifying.
The most surprising parts about Barry are… This show is darker than Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul now. And Succession is more like a comedy show than Barry.
Succession is a weird one as the first season seemed to be a comedy lampooning the ultra rich and ultra powerful, but with seasons 2 and 3 kinda became this examination of how seeking more power corrupts the main characters. Season 4 is still a comedy but, with the latest episode, it's very difficult to laugh at it at times. It's like Jesse Armstrong is showing the audience that these people shouldn't have been laughed at but taken seriously this entire time. Especially Roman feels like that with the latest episode. (Side plug, I have a Succession essay also on the channel if you want to check it out).
@@criticalcoffee I don’t have a capability to edit videos (🥲) but if I could, I would like to make a video essay about how many successful and critically acclaimed dramas love to justify abusers with the underlying pro-establishment sentiments. For example, Better Call Saul’s ending kinda justified Chuck’s abusive behaviors towards Jimmy with the conclusion that “Chuck is right. Jimmy should never have been a lawyer in the first place.” and even Jimmy knows it by showing his greatest regret was that he didn’t make up with Chuck or reaching out to Chuck more (even though in the first 3 seasons, it’s always Jimmy who did the reaching out and Chuck just denied him every step of the way). Or Succession, with how things are falling apart for the siblings, people are now glorifying Logan as a great leader who knows best and how he’s totally right that these kids “are not serious people”. Both shows also tell us that this is how the system works. Nothing will change. The system in Better Call Saul is still marginalizing ex convicts and making them unable to redeem themselves in the society which will cause them to relapse into their criminal lifestyles to survive. It also blames Mike as the cause of whole problem instead of considering that even without Mike, the police corruption is still there and it needs change. Nope, just one bad guy who’s to blame and once he’s gone, everything will fix itself. Speaking of the police, the DEA in the show is still as incompetent as ever and the show never criticizes how the system of the DEA that doesn’t allow the officers to show weakness caused Hank to make so many rash actions to get things done which eventually caused his death. I don’t know. I just hate how these great shows love to have a moral of the story of “The abusers are right because those who got abused ended up being evil/ incompetent as they predicted anyway”.
When you say that Sally is the only character who doesn't get what she wants in the fourth season, I think it's sort of hinted that she gets a chance to play a role, "Emily" and really live in that character's skin. Of course, it doesn't make her happy, none of the characters are happy in the fourth season, but I think that's what they're kind of hinting at.
very solid essay. for future reference, i’m pretty sure the idyllic countryside they live in is supposed to be representative of the midwestern or dust bowl states in the US, not the south
Huh. How did you come to the conclusion that it's midwestern? Not trying to defend it being "the south" at all btw, I've never been to the US so I wouldn't know. The fifth episode was shot in LA at least.
Barry isn't a psychopath. You shouldn't throw the word around if you don't know what it means. Barry is definitely not devoid of empathy or emotion. You could definitely argue he has sociopathic traits but not psychopathy.
It’s too dark, I feel like a lot of the comedy that made the show so great and entertaining is overshadowed by just how bleak it’s become, this season especially. Hader should definitely make horror films.
I was put off by it at first but have grown to appreciate it more. Episode 6, however, isn't as heavy as the previous episodes (excluding Sally's plot).
@@criticalcoffee I disagree what Barry and sally are doing to their son is beyond cruel, I’m kind of hoping that all of this is just some kind of nightmare that he’s conjuring up in his head
Harder said in interview that it was the idea of someone who very good at doing something that was killing him inside (but was a natural for) and very bad at something that he always wanted to do (but was terrible at).
I was glad they didn't go without laughs in the finale, i was concerned they would after the season 3 finale was so tonally focused on the darkness. But Barry's "oh wow" and the movie, among other things, were perfectly funny moments
On the segment about everyone getting what they want: a friend pointed out to me that Sally is playing a character in her new life with Barry, the only way she can do what she loves is in this fucked up yet surrealistic world that she is now a part of.
For me, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul gave so much influence and inspiration for Barry. But even with that, Barry still manages to become its own.
had to come back after catching up w the show, but there's an important correction to be made Barry was a marine, and marines ship w Navy corpsman (medics). he was not in the army, and even lying to his son to say he was a medic he would still be Navy
I hope Anthony Carrigan gets his flowers. In fact, the entire cast has been stellar this season. Stephen Root especially. It's just unfortunate that it is also the year of Succession and I think they're gonna gobble up all the wins.
I just watched this whole thing over the last few days, I don't think he was psychotic, he's autistic. This is setup early - he buys Sally an expensive laptop immediately after sleeping with her, he calls her his girlfriend based on nothing, he misses social cues all over the place. The acting class helps him with this That's what Fuches realized when he saw Rain Man
Great vid. I think, however, that Sally did get everything she wanted. She’s built a life with a man who basically only exists for her. She gets the love she’s been craving and it comes in the form of a maniac who speaks softly to her, pledges his undying allegiance, and indulges and forgives her darker instincts. Just me .02.
I haven’t watched the show, but I don’t watch much HBO. I’m deeply troubled by shows that are categorically tragedies, but don’t forthrightly acknowledge evil as evil.
two mistakes... Cousenau didn't kill his son, and No Ho Hank did not kill Christobal. Cristobal was killed by No Ho's boss. No Ho Hank knew it would happen if Cristolbal left... but it wasn't him that did it or wanted it done. He just painfully accepted it as part of becoming the king of L.A.
The Cousineau part I get. I was working off the first five episodes. Episode 4 shows that Cousineau's son is shot and episode 5 shows that Cousineau has left the country for 8 years. No surprise that I came to the conclusion that he was escaping the law. People on the subreddit were already developing theories that Cousineau would pin this on Barry. I'm not a writer on the show. I don't have screeners. There's no way I could have anticipated that the show would zag there. But the NoHo Hank thing? He absolutely put Cristobal in a situation in which he would be killed. No he didn't *literally pull the trigger* but he is ABSOLUTELY complicit in this killing.
@@criticalcoffee There is room for argument. How I saw it, was that No Ho's boss Andrei( by the way... nobody seemed to notice that No Ho Hank's boss was played by Micheal Ironside) was giving Cristobal one last chance to be part of the family. But you could see Batir shaking his head to Andrei as they are talking to No Ho. In my mind, No Ho had asked for one last chance, and right up until the last second he still thought he could save Cristobal, but when Cristobal said "It's over."... Hank resolved to Cristobal's fate, but it still doesn't mean he killed him. If you watch carefully, as No Ho enters the house, he looks up to his right without lifting his head. He's looking at Cristobal's killer... probably on the roof of the garage. So, he knew as he entered the house, that Cristobal was already dead. You have no argument from me on that point... but I don't think he wanted it.
@@wowwhywow Yeah Hank definitely thought that he could talk Cristobal into giving their relationship one more chance even after Hank betrayed Cristobal completely. He doesn't want this. BUT he is still the one who had the gangsters killed in the sand silo. HE KNEW that if Cristobal walked out of the house, the chechens' wouldn't allow for him to live. He knew all of these things and still he betrayed Cristobal. Just because he feels remorse over the event doesn't mean that he didn't kill Cristobal (more accurately, cause Cristobal's death).
czcams.com/video/pQwdkC86L44/video.html My follow up video in which I talk about the ending of BARRY is up!
I felt like the final season was an occurrence of them writing themselves into a corner, with respect to the narrative. Its hard to convey these darker meanings narratively.
Whoa! Gene didn't kill his son. He shot him, but he didn't kill him.
@@cade377 This video was released right after the episode in question came out. At that point, it looked like he had shot and killed him. Mea culpa for sure, but it looked like that had happened during the time.
Season 4 is still hilarious. The latest episode with Barry listening to the Christians podcast finding a reason to kill is absolutely hilarious.
Ngl I was genuinely surprised how funny ep 6 was. The Bill Burr cameo was so frigging funny
@@criticalcoffee “well that’s a sign” and grabs gun😂😂😂
@@everettenjeze6276 Oh and Fuches getting out of jail. So, so, so funny. I absolutely love Stephen Root. I've watched that sequence like three times already.
@@criticalcoffee “the raven”😂
@@criticalcoffee As a listener to Burr's actual podcast, it was great to hear his fake one. I could feel his smirk throughout the unhinged rant, and loved how Barry was like, "bingo," finding a shred of validation. I do agree that the show has slowly shifted its balance away from comedy, but the dramatic and horrific moments always feel earned, so I have no complaints. Many recent episodes feel like distilled anxiety, which is a triumph in itself. It's amazing that what started as a quirky dark comedy could pivot to now making me feel like I can't breathe for half an hour.
The fact that Season 4 doesn't have music in its intro anymore already made a statement in which direction it would take. It was a subtle change, but very effective.
I miss the intro so bad
I miss it :(
I really hope that it’ll play for the Final episode of Barry just for old times sake
@@alejandrogonzalez00 Pretty sure this Sunday is the final episode. We'll see!
@@sgt.pepper5794 I think this season will be 10 episodes
Sally does get what she wants, she becomes a full time actor as she basically has to put on this character every day now that she’s on the run.
I know this has been a popular "monkey's paw" perspective on the subreddit, but I gotta say that it's not actually what Sally "wants" is it? Like the show hasn't made a point to show that she wants to portray Waitress #2 every day of her life.
Season 3 Sally's want is to be loved by her peers. (e.g. the Joplin red carpet / speech). After killing someone I think her want becomes to feel safe with someone, which Barry fulfills.
Anyway, thanks for watching!
she wants fame and acknowledgement, glory, prestige, popularity
@@criticalcoffee Bill Hader confirms that this is what she wanted in the Ringer podcast season 4 episode 4.
"What if we show these guys, these characters--what if we show them getting what they wanted. What if we show putting on playing--'cause the acting the idea went away but this idea of *playing a part to be able to live with yourself* and try to get a version of what you want, you know? And can they hold onto that was an idea that we had."
This refers to both Barry and Sally I think. My interpretation is that Sally gets what she wants by feeling safe with Barry. I think there's a shift in her "want" from the point where she kills someone and in the moment where she chooses to leave LA. As Hader mentions in the same pod: her leaving LA is her saying good bye to acting.
edit* also should specify that I'm not disagreeing with you. Hader does confirm this, I was mistaken in assuming that her "want" would be the same that it was during S3.
I would also say that she also wants love and adoration. Which is what a husband and son are supposed to give to their wife/mother.
I love how as Barry and other characters slide deeper into their horrible states of mind the surrilism of the show just keeps going up a notch
The surrealism gives the show it's own voice, I'm here for it 100%
counterpoint: barry telling sally about torturing her manager is hilarious
It’s like equal parts hilarious and horrifying
“We can replace her dog with a slightly different dog” had me on the floor dying
The first 3 seasons had us laugh at dark comedy of Barry & others harming themselves and others. Season 4 shows what results from that and silently scolds us for enjoying their suffering.
They can try and scold us all they want but I personally will never ever feel bad for enjoying the suffering of fictional characters lol
I dunno, there's plenty of moments where real consequences happened. The first major hint was Chris' death in Season 1.
This final season is slowly killing me a little bit more each week.
The best shows have a definitive 'end' after a certain amount of seasons. I always thought Fuches narrative arc the funniest. How many opportunities has he had to settle down and live the good life? Yet each time he gives in to his addiction and gets back in the game. He can't help himself. Maybe that's what the show is about, each of the characters dealing with their individual addictions.
S3 Fuches is so frigging funny. He gets the chance to live a peaceful life TWICE and young hot women FOR SOME REASON just want him, and still he can't give up the revenge.
I love how it's sort of the opposite of Barry: where the universe seems to be bending over backwards to try and give Fuches a second chance, it does the exact opposite for Barry, constantly bringing all of the shit he did back to haunt him.
@@criticalcoffeeThis show sucks ass. The characters are inconsistent, and the story spins its wheels to stretch the time That's why characters can't make up their minds and they literally repeat character arcs.
At one point fuches is dying, and some cowboys find him. By the end of the very same day, fuches gunshot heals, the guy that found him is offering him his daughter, and fuches steals his truck and heads to kill barry. This is literally the second time fuches works on a ranch and decides to live peacefully without Barry, but then randomly decides to leave to kill him
Fuches followed tired tracks from the road into the woods near genes house, and found genes gfs body. The cops couldn't find tire tracks or a fucking car when using hundreds of people and dogs to search but fuches can alone??? How are the tire tracks in the woods 2 years later??? This show is lazy and sucks.
Barry's rampage in the season 2 finale is one of the best moments of the show and imo it even spoils the whole story if you think about it, season 3 basically retrace it the same path but it just keep reinforcing the idea that Barry cannot change, no matter what he does he will always end up as a killer with no regards for human life, hes truly a broken man and no amount of mascarading himself to appear human will ever be enough for him
I think the moment I noticed this was no longer a comedy was when the theme music stopped playing
I love how the humor goes from like a goofy look on self absorption into just demented humor 😂 this show is literally my all time favorite!
I don't know how this rollercoaster is going to end but I trust in Hader.
I can’t wait to see how it plays out.
oh wow
This show definitely deserves more attention
As someone who followed from the beginning i really think its starting to get its due traction, anyone who cares about tv is at least aware of it and if there were a 5th season i think it would do well a la breaking bad in its final seasons
@@MrStupididy cuz HBO finally started a big marketing push, seen a lot of photos from their accounts with it side by side with Succession
@LivingRoomTV its very specific stylistically but its also a dense dark comedy with thick plot that takes place in 27 minute episodes across 8 episodes a season. i love it. I can understand not loving it but its not a huge commitment to tty half the season(2 hours)
@LivingRoomTV yeah dud give it another chance, i would personally place that show head to head with breaking bad, and as barry becomes darker, its performances keep evolving till emmy award level.
Psd: sorry for my s*tty english :s
@LivingRoomTV I had the same issues as you did with the pilot, and didn't make it halfway through episode 2. No idea why I decided to try it again once the first season had all come online, but glad I did. I think once I took a second to give the writing more credit, that the cringe in the characters was by design, it gave time to see what ( if anything) the writers wanted to do with those characters. Turns out, the payoff was amazing. And not even just the main characters, but many of the tertiary characters get little nods and brief times to become more human and fleshed out, if briefly so. Can't recommend the show enough.
This and Succession finishing at the same time is almost too much for me to take. So much amazing television and it's all coming to a head. Unfortunately I think Barry will have a much darker ending than Succession...
Have a feeling Hank will b the only one left
19:58
Sally technically gets what she wants because she basically acts for a living now (being in disguise)
I managed to keep up with Barry as it went along from season two onwards and it really is on the same level as Mr. Robot for me as an all time favorite. It's the rare show where it manages to surpass already high expectations every season and every week for me. As a bit sad i am about it ending soon, I'm glad it can potentially end on a high note and not drag on. It's why i was excited to find out season four would be the last.
Mr Robot is a very good comp! another show that honestly deserved more attention. I think (personally) that it peaked with S3 but I think it was never bad. Should write an essay about that show tbh
The season also has some horror elements. It’s disturbing at times like the latest episode with hearing Moss say “I cut your arms and legs off” as Barry is crying in agony and fear is terrifying along with the black figure following behind sally to represent her trauma.
The dead guy in the acting class, the dead guy on the plane, Barry walking into the darkness.
It's not horror but it is for sure using tropes from horror. It's almost like Hader is practicing or something ;)
@@criticalcoffee the sand scene was nightmare fuel as well. I would love a psychological horror directed by Hader I feel like he would kill it
@@tanneraitken3768 I think with the right subject matter and the right material, he has a real chance to appear as the next Jordan Peele. Both have backgrounds in comedy at least. Although I don't know what is a topic that Hader could tackle like Peele has with Get Out, Us and Nope.
Wait, 700 subscribers? 9 likes? What the hell where is your hype dude this video was so well made! You should be blowing up!
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Dude THANK GOD Somebody finally gave season 1 episode 7 the recognition it deserved, it really is one of the best episodes of the whole show and one of my personal favorites
i love that we never see what's on the other side of that wall from Hank. imagination is always scarier.
Honestly the vacation house sequence in season 1 and the 8 years fast forward in season 4 felt like hallucinations for the first 5 minutes
I definitely think this show will end up becoming a cult classic
it already is
I can't help but see Dexter when Barry walks at night putting his hands into pockets.
No one talks about how he goes into the darkness at the end of season 2 and becomes a worse person. The for him was the light going out
Really looking forward to your take on the series finale and the series as a whole. At the ending, all I can really say is, "wow".
I'm so grateful of being one of your subscribers before you get to the 1K mark, because just by seeing this video I can tell that by the end of the year you'll be hitting it big, mate. Superb breakdown and analysis of the series. Keep up the great work.
Thank you for watching and subbing!
the way the pilot went i knew how this series was gonna be. the masterful art and storytelling of bill hader, with that bill hader comedy on top. it’s a masterpiece that could only be made by people or one person on the same page.
The show is pure genius, and I think you did a fantastic job encapsulating the elements that make it so. Thank you for making this 🙌🏼😊
Thank you for the kind words and for watching!
I notice that Barry’s cinematography changed since season 3 as well. In the first two seasons, the scenes were way more colorful but once it reached season 3, the scenes became very gray just like how Barry totally losing his morals.
I got the same feeling with Better Call Saul, when the first 4 seasons were very colorful but once Jimmy started working under the name Saul Goodman and season 5 started, the color tone of the show became very orange and gray, just like Jimmy’s moral corruption.
Didn't honestly pick up on this, but it's interesting!
Yea, I believe The Sopranos used the same color grading technique. The later seasons had a much more darker color palette than the first few seasons, in order to signify looming dread.
Prediction: Barry seeing Sally and Couseneau in the dream where he sees everyone he kills, foreshadows eventually having to kill them. I know we basically already got this confirmed at the end of the last episode with him saying “I need to kill Couseneau” but I think that will go smoothly, and theyll try to return back to their isolated life, and then Sally’s dark side (as its been shown) will overcome her and she will endanger their child, forcing Barry to kill her to protect the child, but reverting all of his process on abstaining from killing. OR, Sally could be the one that ends up killing Couseneau, which could also unlock her darkside and call for Barry to put her down to save himself. Its all gonna come down to Barry being alone, and being a Killer. Im hoping Bill Hader gives us SOME positive takeaway from that but im okay with just being sad lol
Where were they in the dream sequence?
@@pineapple9875 It's in the beginning of the eighth (?) episode when Barry wakes up in the hospital.
if you're right, i'll need to kill Dylan. jk.
that theory is really nice dude, even it being a sad ending it would be a very interesting one. Hats off to Bill for this one.
@@criticalcoffeedefinitelt didnt predict Jim Moss abducting Barry, but half the theory is still holding. It seems like things wont blow up over Couseneau because Gene doesnt want to make the movie so he doesnt have to die, and it looks like Sallys darkness has come back to bite her, she has compromised the sons safety, and it seems like Barry is going to have to make the hard decision I feared. That is, unless he finds some way out through this Jim Moss situation
Dude you are 100% right. Wtf. After that 6th episode it looks like Sally is going insane and she is gonna try to unalive their son.
Loved how being on the run destroyed Barry and sally mentally. Barry with the kids ding dong ditching their house. And sally with the hallucinated home invasion.
Great work here ive been looking for more regular conversations about this amazing show. Will fefinetely be curious of your thoughts once we hit finale in a couple weeks
Thank you for watching!
this show is so good i’m glad i hopped on it when it first came out. looking at where it started it is clear that it has gotten progressively darker. but i also think that it has still kept the humor at the fore front. scenes can have a dark undertone and be lighthearted. the subject matter is def intense but bill hader is able to mask them with comedic elements. i think the show portrays trauma as something that people try to hide by either making a joke or doing something horrible that is justified by them being broken. i can’t wait to see how it ends.
Amazing Analyses bro!
Thank you so much for watching!
Everytime I watch Barry I think “wow that was fucked up.”
Ngl I read this in NoHo Hank's voice
One of my favorite TV moments is from Delocated, when the mafia villian declares "This isnt a silly comedy anymore. It's a silly drama!" And that seems to encapsulate a lot of prestige TV these days.
Haven't seen that one! Is it worth a watch?
@@criticalcoffee YES. I completely forgot about that show until that line made me think of it. It's foundational. So far ahead of it's time.
The parts with Sally back in Joplin are pretty dark
The Airplane dream is straight up from a horror film
(by the way, what a beautiful profile you have. IASIP is my favorite show of all time)
G'Day from Melbourne, Australia. Great video mate! Definitely make a finale vid. This was really fun!🍕🍕
Thanks for watching! 😎
Barry is my favorite show out right now, it's phenomenal. I'm so upset that it's coming to an end.
In trying to predict what happens, the scene on the beach implies at some point he will kill Sally and Couseneau.
For Barry himself.. I think either he kills himself, which is why he's on the beach too, or we hear a gunshot and it's left unanswered if he's alive or dead.
I agree that this is the by far the darkest season but at the same time I think I’ve laughed harder at the few comedic needle drops than in any other season. Also I just noticed you only have 1 K subs, that is going to change quickly I would imagine. Great video.
Thank you for watching!!
We need to STOP using psychopath as a word used to deacribe people who are willing snd able to kill.
That does NOTTT make one a psychopath. At all. Barry, is not a psychopath. We see this time snd time again. He does have empathy. He absolutely 1000 percent, does. Hes just a broken, brainwashed, man. Who was taught to be this way, who had to bury their emotions to be who they are without losing their mind.
All soldiers who have to kill end up doing this to some degree. Burrying their emotions, I mean. Its literally PART of the military training. Dehumanizing your targets and making you angry. Thats how militaries have gotten their soldiers willing to kill. Before that, which is around ww1/ww2- Vietnam, soldiers wouldnt do their jobs. Most soldiers would shoot over their enemies heads. On all sides. Real thing.
Saying hes a psychopath REMOVES nuance. Hes a damaged mentally ill, man. Not a psychopath.
Support for the writers’ strike got you a subscriber brother!
Man by the time we get to season 3 and there on the show becomes almost like a straight up psychological drama now
Great video and exactly the type of video essay I’ve been looking for on Barry since S2. You nailed it with the end of the video as I was hoping to debate that while S4 is the darkest, the tone of the show has never really changed. Ep6 of S4 makes that pretty clear. You mediated on Barry’s actions in S1/2 after the context from S3/4 and you saw how the show was only funny before because there was still sympathy for Barry. The sympathy was never earned but it was still there. Honestly it’s still not gone but Barry has had something coming to him since he killed Chris. I find it funny that Bill Hader was surprised that people didn’t think Barry was an awful person.
Great video man this deserves more hype. Would love to see thoughts after the S4 finale.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
@@criticalcoffee Thank you for the amazing video! Could feel the passion! I need to look through more of your vids tbh.
What if the fourth season is supposed to be the opposite of the second season, where instead of Barry seeking redemption and inevitably killing out of rage and revenge, he seeks revenge and finds redemption somehow. It makes sense since the third season felt, like you said, like Barry had resorted back to how he was in the first season (only worse). Idk rlly bill has an amazing way of keeping you guessing, but this is how I hope it resolves.
This is a very interesting prediction. What halts me a bit is how Hader talks about Barry as a character on the Prestige TV Podcast. He _really_ doesn't like Barry. So that would kinda mean that Barry is never going to change.
However, I do find that with episode 6, there are some shades of that happening. There has to be some sort of moral reckoning for Barry and his misdeeds throughout the show. How that's going to be handled is still up in the air.
I hope it's not a Breaking Bad style thing where he 180s in the final moments and finds redemption in his death or something like that. I hope it's something a bit more interesting than that.
Thank you for watching and for the insightful comment!
@@criticalcoffee True and after all, it still feels like a comedy at the end of the day, maybe the ending is the absolute worst scenario for everyone (or just Barry) in the most hilarious way possible. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK MAN
Also forgot to mention, it’s interesting you brought up Walter because I feel someone like Vince Gilligan would also really not like Walter, and the similarities between how Walter justifies his many murders throughout breaking bad, and how Barry justifies (or tries to justify) his murders. Especially in the sixth episode where he tries to find any sort of wiggle room in his Christian beliefs for the murder he attempts to commit on Gene. Also I find it interesting that after Barry’s two father figures betrayed him, it seems his new role model in God. Which might actually be his worst parental figure yet if you think about it. Also also, I really have to rewatch the show to be sure, but Barry always felt to me like he’s never had an original thought in his head, and that mentally he NEEDS something or someone guiding him an any way shape or form. Watching Barry listen to those podcasts didn’t feel like he was just seeking justification, but that he was literally filling those thoughts into his head as his own. It’s a little freaky if you see it that way.
So sorry for ranting, it’s SUPER fun talking and debating about this highly underrated show
Damnit, forgot about his daydreams so I guess he has had some original thoughts
was the better call saul reference that the protagonists gets a whole new identity after a time jump or is it something else. I also liked the wide shots of the landscape they use in 4x5 gave it a even more better call saul feeling
Great breakdown of this series.
thank you for watching!
@@criticalcoffee don’t mention it !
The latest two seasons are so good, it should have gotten breaking bad attention
Good video , I would really like to see an analysis of the religious themes in season 4 and Barry's relation with his son
thanks for watching! Don't honestly know enough about Christianity to write that, hopefully someone will cover that topic!
Idk how you talked so little about nohos hank scene with the creature that was HORRIFYING
People barely have the attention span for 25 minutes. Unfortunately some stuff just has to be cut out. Agreed completely though, it's frigging horrifying.
The most surprising parts about Barry are…
This show is darker than Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul now.
And Succession is more like a comedy show than Barry.
Succession is a weird one as the first season seemed to be a comedy lampooning the ultra rich and ultra powerful, but with seasons 2 and 3 kinda became this examination of how seeking more power corrupts the main characters. Season 4 is still a comedy but, with the latest episode, it's very difficult to laugh at it at times. It's like Jesse Armstrong is showing the audience that these people shouldn't have been laughed at but taken seriously this entire time. Especially Roman feels like that with the latest episode.
(Side plug, I have a Succession essay also on the channel if you want to check it out).
@@criticalcoffee I don’t have a capability to edit videos (🥲) but if I could, I would like to make a video essay about how many successful and critically acclaimed dramas love to justify abusers with the underlying pro-establishment sentiments. For example, Better Call Saul’s ending kinda justified Chuck’s abusive behaviors towards Jimmy with the conclusion that “Chuck is right. Jimmy should never have been a lawyer in the first place.” and even Jimmy knows it by showing his greatest regret was that he didn’t make up with Chuck or reaching out to Chuck more (even though in the first 3 seasons, it’s always Jimmy who did the reaching out and Chuck just denied him every step of the way). Or Succession, with how things are falling apart for the siblings, people are now glorifying Logan as a great leader who knows best and how he’s totally right that these kids “are not serious people”.
Both shows also tell us that this is how the system works. Nothing will change. The system in Better Call Saul is still marginalizing ex convicts and making them unable to redeem themselves in the society which will cause them to relapse into their criminal lifestyles to survive. It also blames Mike as the cause of whole problem instead of considering that even without Mike, the police corruption is still there and it needs change. Nope, just one bad guy who’s to blame and once he’s gone, everything will fix itself. Speaking of the police, the DEA in the show is still as incompetent as ever and the show never criticizes how the system of the DEA that doesn’t allow the officers to show weakness caused Hank to make so many rash actions to get things done which eventually caused his death.
I don’t know. I just hate how these great shows love to have a moral of the story of “The abusers are right because those who got abused ended up being evil/ incompetent as they predicted anyway”.
Great video ❤
Thank you for watching!!
That ending. Magnificent
I really love the Gradient of this show. A really good Descent into darkness.
The original title of this video was Barry: A Descent into Darkness!
I think the comedy has just gotten more subtle
The last episode is just crazy holly
I lile to believe that Jon Hamm was at the BBQ solely for the purpose of using the bathroom
Fonzie didn't kill his son. He survived getting shot.
That reminder to support the writers also reminded me to thumbs up the video, thanks!
Without talented *FAIRLY COMPENSATED* screenwriters this channel is dead. Can't believe how greedy the studios are.
WELL DONE 🤘
thank you so much!
brilliant vid
Thank you for watching!
I'm so glad I started watching this show. It's so much better... and darker... than I expected!
😏😏😏😏
man Season 4 feels like Breaking Bad levels of tension
This show was gold. I loved it. Its a shame that i watched it in few days but it was way too good. I was absolutely hooked.
great video.
Thanks for watching!
When you say that Sally is the only character who doesn't get what she wants in the fourth season, I think it's sort of hinted that she gets a chance to play a role, "Emily" and really live in that character's skin. Of course, it doesn't make her happy, none of the characters are happy in the fourth season, but I think that's what they're kind of hinting at.
very solid essay. for future reference, i’m pretty sure the idyllic countryside they live in is supposed to be representative of the midwestern or dust bowl states in the US, not the south
Huh. How did you come to the conclusion that it's midwestern? Not trying to defend it being "the south" at all btw, I've never been to the US so I wouldn't know. The fifth episode was shot in LA at least.
i don't think it's a say on the impact of violence, rather a say on denial
Good analysis! But psychologically speaking, I don’t think Barry is a Psychopath, given his capacity for remorse.
Barry isn't a psychopath. You shouldn't throw the word around if you don't know what it means. Barry is definitely not devoid of empathy or emotion. You could definitely argue he has sociopathic traits but not psychopathy.
i cant believe almost no one is talking about this latest/last season
It’s too dark, I feel like a lot of the comedy that made the show so great and entertaining is overshadowed by just how bleak it’s become, this season especially. Hader should definitely make horror films.
I was put off by it at first but have grown to appreciate it more. Episode 6, however, isn't as heavy as the previous episodes (excluding Sally's plot).
@@criticalcoffee I disagree what Barry and sally are doing to their son is beyond cruel, I’m kind of hoping that all of this is just some kind of nightmare that he’s conjuring up in his head
Yeah bro, cover the ending, I came here to see what you think
Currently writing the next video!
Sally didn’t get what she wanted. But she did get her… Just Desserts.
I think the show is still a comedy with dramatic elements, but have gotten much darker and more absurd.
Did he change tho? He went from killing for money, to killing for love to killing for self preservation
Harder said in interview that it was the idea of someone who very good at doing something that was killing him inside (but was a natural for) and very bad at something that he always wanted to do (but was terrible at).
That makes sense! Barry is bizarrely good at killing. Nobody on the show can do what he does, as well as he does.
I was glad they didn't go without laughs in the finale, i was concerned they would after the season 3 finale was so tonally focused on the darkness. But Barry's "oh wow" and the movie, among other things, were perfectly funny moments
20:02 Sally gets to become an actress. She is acting in her new identity every moment she is out of the house.
On the segment about everyone getting what they want: a friend pointed out to me that Sally is playing a character in her new life with Barry, the only way she can do what she loves is in this fucked up yet surrealistic world that she is now a part of.
This show is absolutely genius
...perhaps we don't need to take emotional advice from narcissists from Hollywood. Hader's a genius.
I'm glad you don't feel depressed, I would however recommend you stop killing people before you get shot in the head.
it always had to go dark in the last season, still wildly funny mind
the show really reminded me of Dexter
For me, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul gave so much influence and inspiration for Barry. But even with that, Barry still manages to become its own.
Bill Hader has confirmed that it was a Panther
yikes
So how do you feel about the ending?
*Oh Wow*
“.. except I don’t think I’m depressed.”
👆🏻🤨
had to come back after catching up w the show, but there's an important correction to be made
Barry was a marine, and marines ship w Navy corpsman (medics). he was not in the army, and even lying to his son to say he was a medic he would still be Navy
I get this was filmed before the last episode, but Cousineau still hasn't killed anyone
Yup definitely got that wrong
Anthony Carrigan should be nominated at least. Great actor.
I hope Anthony Carrigan gets his flowers. In fact, the entire cast has been stellar this season. Stephen Root especially. It's just unfortunate that it is also the year of Succession and I think they're gonna gobble up all the wins.
What was the better call Saul reference
Probably a Cinnabon joke or something :D didn't think it through
oh wow
I just watched this whole thing over the last few days, I don't think he was psychotic, he's autistic. This is setup early - he buys Sally an expensive laptop immediately after sleeping with her, he calls her his girlfriend based on nothing, he misses social cues all over the place. The acting class helps him with this That's what Fuches realized when he saw Rain Man
Great vid. I think, however, that Sally did get everything she wanted. She’s built a life with a man who basically only exists for her. She gets the love she’s been craving and it comes in the form of a maniac who speaks softly to her, pledges his undying allegiance, and indulges and forgives her darker instincts. Just me .02.
Good interpretation!
oh, wow
I haven’t watched the show, but I don’t watch much HBO. I’m deeply troubled by shows that are categorically tragedies, but don’t forthrightly acknowledge evil as evil.
two mistakes... Cousenau didn't kill his son, and No Ho Hank did not kill Christobal.
Cristobal was killed by No Ho's boss.
No Ho Hank knew it would happen if Cristolbal left... but it wasn't him that did it or wanted it done.
He just painfully accepted it as part of becoming the king of L.A.
The Cousineau part I get. I was working off the first five episodes. Episode 4 shows that Cousineau's son is shot and episode 5 shows that Cousineau has left the country for 8 years. No surprise that I came to the conclusion that he was escaping the law. People on the subreddit were already developing theories that Cousineau would pin this on Barry. I'm not a writer on the show. I don't have screeners. There's no way I could have anticipated that the show would zag there.
But the NoHo Hank thing? He absolutely put Cristobal in a situation in which he would be killed. No he didn't *literally pull the trigger* but he is ABSOLUTELY complicit in this killing.
@@criticalcoffee There is room for argument. How I saw it, was that No Ho's boss Andrei( by the way... nobody seemed to notice that No Ho Hank's boss was played by Micheal Ironside) was giving Cristobal one last chance to be part of the family. But you could see Batir shaking his head to Andrei as they are talking to No Ho.
In my mind, No Ho had asked for one last chance, and right up until the last second he still thought he could save Cristobal, but when Cristobal said "It's over."... Hank resolved to Cristobal's fate, but it still doesn't mean he killed him.
If you watch carefully, as No Ho enters the house, he looks up to his right without lifting his head.
He's looking at Cristobal's killer... probably on the roof of the garage.
So, he knew as he entered the house, that Cristobal was already dead. You have no argument from me on that point... but I don't think he wanted it.
@@wowwhywow Yeah Hank definitely thought that he could talk Cristobal into giving their relationship one more chance even after Hank betrayed Cristobal completely. He doesn't want this.
BUT he is still the one who had the gangsters killed in the sand silo. HE KNEW that if Cristobal walked out of the house, the chechens' wouldn't allow for him to live. He knew all of these things and still he betrayed Cristobal. Just because he feels remorse over the event doesn't mean that he didn't kill Cristobal (more accurately, cause Cristobal's death).
@@criticalcoffee I'll agree that he caused Cristobal's death.